YEMEN: Constrained response to protection needs of IDPs and returnees A profile of the internal displacement situation 22 July, 2009 This Internal Displacement Profile is automatically generated from the online IDP database of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). It includes an overview of the internal displacement situation in the country prepared by the IDMC, followed by a compilation of excerpts from relevant reports by a variety of different sources. All headlines as well as the bullet point summaries at the beginning of each chapter were added by the IDMC to facilitate navigation through the Profile. Where dates in brackets are added to headlines, they indicate the publication date of the most recent source used in the respective chapter. The views expressed in the reports compiled in this Profile are not necessarily shared by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. The Profile is also available online at www.internal-displacement.org. About the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, established in 1998 by the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the leading international body monitoring conflict-induced internal displacement worldwide. Through its work, the Centre contributes to improving national and international capacities to protect and assist the millions of people around the globe who have been displaced within their own country as a result of conflicts or human rights violations. At the request of the United Nations, the Geneva-based Centre runs an online database providing comprehensive information and analysis on internal displacement in some 50 countries. Based on its monitoring and data collection activities, the Centre advocates for durable solutions to the plight of the internally displaced in line with international standards. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre also carries out training activities to enhance the capacity of local actors to respond to the needs of internally displaced people. In its work, the Centre cooperates with and provides support to local and national civil society initiatives. For more information, visit the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre website and the database at www.internal-displacement.org. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre Norwegian Refugee Council Chemin de Balexert 7-9 1219 Geneva, Switzerland Tel.: +41 22 799 07 00 [email protected] www.internal-displacement.org 2 CONTENTS CONTENTS 3 OVERVIEW 6 CONSTRAINED RESPONSE TO PROTECTION NEEDS OF IDPS AND RETURNEES 6 CAUSES AND BACKGROUND 14 GENERAL INTRODUCTION 14 GENERAL INTRODUCTION OF SITUATION OF DISPLACEMENT 14 YEMEN HISTORICAL TIMELINE 14 YEMEN MODERN HISTORY AND CONTEXT 14 CONFLICT IN THE SOUTH 1960S AND CIVIL WAR IN 1994 18 CONFLICT IN THE SOUTH 1960S AND CIVIL WAR IN 1994 18 SA'ADA CONFLICT 2004-2009 21 SAADA CONFLICT 2004-2009 21 NATURAL DISASTERS FLOODS AND DRAUGHTS. 26 NATURAL DISASTERS FLOODS AND DRAUGHTS. 26 POPULATION FIGURES AND PROFILE 30 FIGURES 30 PROFILE OF DISPLACEMENT IN YEMEN 30 FIGURES OF DISPLACEMENT IN YEMEN 30 PROFILE OF DISPLACEMENT IN YEMEN 48 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF DISPLACEMENT 50 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF DISPLACEMENT 50 PATTERNS OF DISPLACEMENT 52 DISPLACEMENT IN SAADA AND SURROUNDING GOVERNORATES 2004-2009 52 DISPLACEMENT IN SAADA AND SURROUNDING GOVERNORATES 2004-2009 52 DISPLACEMENT IN SOUTH & RISKS OF DISPLACEMENT 56 DISPLACEMENT IN SOUTH & RISKS OF DISPLACEMENT 56 DISPLACEMENT DUE TO TRIBAL CONFLICTS AND RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION 59 DISPLACEMENT DUE TO TRIBAL CONFLICTS AND RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION 59 DISPLACEMENT DUE TO NATURAL DISASTERS 62 DISPLACEMENT DUE TO NATURAL DISASTERS 62 3 PHYSICAL SECURITY & FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT 66 PROTECTION OF IDPS DURING SAADA CONFLICT 2004-2008 66 PROTECTION OF IDPS DURING LAST FIVE ROUNDS OF CONFLICT 2004-2008 66 CHILD PROTECTION CONCERNS 2004 - 2009 72 CHILD PROTECTION IN 2004 - 2009 72 PROTECTION OF DISPLACED 2008-2009 76 PROTECTION OF IDPS IN LATTER CONFLICT AND POST CONFLICT 2008-2009 76 RELIGIOUS AND MINORITY TENSIONS. 79 RELIGIOUS AND MINORITY TENSIONS 79 SUBSISTENCE NEEDS 83 SUBSISTENCE NEEDS OF DISPLACED DURING CONFLICT 2004-2008 83 SUBSISTENCE NEEDS OF DISPLACED DURING CONFLICT 2004-2008 83 SUBSISTENCE NEEDS OF DISPLACED 2008-2009 88 SUBSISTENCE NEEDS OF DISPLACED 2008-2009 88 ACCESS TO EDUCATION 94 ACCESS TO EDUCATION 94 ISSUES OF SELF-RELIANCE AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 97 ISSUES OF SELF RELIANCE AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 97 ISSUES OF SELF RELIANCE AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 97 DOCUMENTATION NEEDS AND CITIZENSHIP 100 DOCUMENTATION NEEDS AND CITIZENSHIP 100 ISSUES OF FAMILY UNITY, IDENTITY AND CULTURE 101 ISSUES OF FAMILY UNITY, IDENTITY AND CULTURE. 101 ISSUES OF FAMILY UNITY, IDENTITY AND CULTURE 101 PROPERTY ISSUES 104 PROPERTY ISSUES 104 PATTERNS OF RETURN AND RESETTLEMENT 110 PATTERNS OF RETURN AND RESETTLEMENT 110 4 HUMANITARIAN ACCESS 113 LACK OF HUMANITARIAN ACCESS 2007-2009 113 LACK OF HUMANITARIAN ACCESS 2007-2009 113 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES 119 NATIONAL RESPONSE 119 NATIONAL RESPONSE- FROM RESTRICTED ACCESS TO RECONSTRUCTION & MEDIATION 2007-2009 119 NATIONAL RESPONSE: CIVIL SOCIETY 2007-2009 123 INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE 126 INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE: REGIONAL & INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY 126 INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE: INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN COMMUNITY 130 LIST OF SOURCES USED 135 5 OVERVIEW Constrained response to protection needs of IDPs and returnees Fighting between government forces and followers of the late Sheikh Badr Eddin al-Houth have led to displacement in northern Yemen at regular intervals since 2004, peaking during the latest round of conflict in June and July 2008. Though many returned to their places of origin following the end of hostilities in July 2008, large numbers were unable to return home. An estimated 100,000 people remain internally displaced as result of the Sa’ada conflict, including some who have gone back to places of origin. In June and July 2009 the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) increased by several thousand as intermittent fighting continued. Though access to affected areas has improved since the conflict, it has remained limited. Attacks on humanitarian personnel have included kidnapping and recently killings. Background: Fragile state, natural disasters and ongoing conflicts Yemen faces a number of severe economic and political challenges. In recent years the government has faced intermittent internal armed conflict in Sa’ada in northern Yemen, a growing southern separatist movement, and resurgence of terrorist groups including al-Qaida (USDoS, September 2008). It is the poorest state in the Arab world, with high unemployment and an estimated 35 per cent of the population below the poverty line; it faces food insecurity, widespread water scarcity and depletion of its natural resources including oil (WB, April 2009). The country also hosts over 152,000 refugees, most of them Somali (UNHCR, June 2009). Several incidents of internal displacement have resulted from internal conflicts and disturbances as well as natural disasters. Recent natural disasters have included widespread flooding and slow-onset disasters such as drought and land erosion. Several thousand were displaced in Al Mahwit governorate since 2007 by droughts, and in October 2008 flooding in the eastern governorates of Hadramout and Al-Mahara caused the displacement of 20,000 to 25,000 people (WFP, December 2008; OCHA, November 2008). Conflict in the south Until 1990, Yemen was divided into two states; the northern Yemen Arab Republic and the more secular People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen in the south (HRW, October 1994; USDoS, 2007). The two fought three short wars, in 1972, 1979, and 1988. In 1990, national reconciliation led to the unified Republic of Yemen with Sana’a as its capital, but differences were never resolved (HRW, October 1994) and civil war broke out in 1994. The 70-day war led to the displacement of 53,000 people, mainly from the governorates of Aden, Lahj, Tai’z and Abyan, where most of the fighting took place (HRW, October 1994). Tensions have since persisted, with southerners protesting against political exclusion, harrassment, and the presence of military camps and checkpoints (MERIP, July 2005). Numerous protests have taken place since 2006, most recently in May 2009 in Lahj, Hadramout and Abyan (Al Jazeera, April 2009 and May 2009). In May 2009 around 200 families were 6 reportedly temporarily displaced in Lahj following violent clashes (IDMC interview, May 2009; IRIN, May 2009). Conflict in the north In the northern governorate of Sa’ada, a group referred to as “Al-Huthis” after the family name of the leader of the rebellion, has since early 2004 engaged in an armed conflict with the Yemeni army and government-backed tribes. Husain Badr al-Din al-Huthi founded “Believing Youth” (al- shabab al-mu’min) primarily to promote Zaydi Shi’ia religious education, but it developed into an opposition movement. The conflict began with isolated clashes in Sa’ada but by mid-2008 extended to the rest of the governorate, in addition to Amran, Sana’a, and Jawf governorates. As of June 2009, Saqayan, Haydan, Razih, and Ghamar districts in Sa’ada were contested or under Huthi control. There have been five rounds of conflict: from June to September 2004; from March to April 2005; from July 2005 to February 2006; from January to June 2007; and from May to July 2008 (HRW, November 2008; UN Inter-Agency Report, May 2007). The intensity of the conflict has increased in each round. The government has reportedly used fighter jets, helicopters,